And who do we see, as a regular passenger since Feb 2010 of Rincon's N9GY jet? None other than Abraham Shiera, also arrested with Rincon. For a backgrounder on both Rincon and Shiera (and other respected members of the chavista Boliburgeoisie) and their virtual spin doctor of choice, Setty has a thorough investigation here.

8 December 2015

Still trying to come to terms with the enormity of what happened in Venezuela a couple days ago. Still difficult to believe that a bunch of thugs, otherwise knows as chavismo, with so many skeletons in their closets, with so much to lose, with their immediate freedom in great peril, sort of gave up, conceding an election. An election, in Venezuela, just like that.

Now I'm on the record, railing against the fairness and transparency of what's come to be known as the "world's best electoral system." I am perhaps the Venezuelan blogger that has written more on the topic. My investigation into the way in which Smartmatic came to be the provider of choice for electoral processes in Venezuela started sometime in 2004, and is still ongoing. The website I created and used to run, vcrisis.com, published in 2006 perhaps the first ever audit, in English, of Venezuela's electoral roll. In 2007, Hugo Chavez thought he would become Emperor of Venezuela. He proposed such far ranging amendments to the constitution, that even his own followers turned their backs and didn't back it up. We are still waiting for the final results of that vote, the only one Chavez ever lost. In August 2004, there was a recall referendum on Chavez's stay in power. After years of negotiations between opposition parties' representatives, government and international mediators, Venezuelan electoral authorities announced, in the early hours of the morning as it has become norm, that Chavez had won by an almost 20% margin. No one checked that results announced were correct. No one could. As a matter of historical fact, no observer, international or otherwise, was allowed to witness the final tally. Opposition representatives did not have a clue of what was happening within the bowels of the Ministry of Elections. Carter Center and OAS representatives fucked up, big time, in safeguarding ballot boxes in the places where they were stationed, and in further guaranteeing that the joke of an audit conducted three days after was done properly. In 2005, an opposition technician showed during an audit in front of international observers that the secrecy of the vote was compromised. Another audit, of the electoral roll organized by the electoral body, ended up concluding that the roll simply wasn't fit for purpose.

All of that hung in my mind, like a hanged body. Like something you just can't ignore when trying to inform a decision on whether the electoral, under such circumstances, was ever to become a viable solution to get rid of chavismo's power stranglehold. I became an advocate, and wrote countless words about how the opposition, armed with nothing but current legislation, should demand conditions, as dictated by law. I railed against the opposition, endlessly, for accepting the unilateral, and illegal, imposition of unfair electoral conditions. Time and time again I argued what I thought was only fair, and self evident.

So count me among those who were skeptical about elections in Venezuela, among those who denigrated an opposition leadership that never stood up for our electoral rights. But then Sunday happened (6D). With all of the above, against a State that bracenly used all power available to it, legal and otherwise, Venezuelans voted massively against chavismo, against the hunger, violence, misery and, above all, against the hardship that chavismo has unleashed like a curse on Venezuela. I will be hated for this, but I will call it a punishment vote (voto castigo). Venezuelans, chavistas or not, voted against chavismo. The monumental clusterfuck that Venezuela has become is chavismo's, and chavismo's only, legacy. But within it, in its defined political context, I admit I was never expecting such a quick, zanahoria, give up. People with so much at stake aren't supposed to give up without a proper fight. In all honesty I never thought this would happen, and oh have I been proved wrong!

As some people heard my rants against electoral authorities, I heard an endless stream of arguments against the opposition's lack of a program, a manifesto, a plan: "you can't beat chavismo without a plan... you have to win hearts and minds... warm up to chavistas so they vote opposition..." and on, and on. Well, it wasn't the opposition. It was all chavismo, and THEIR plan. It was THEIR utter destruction of every fabric of Venezuelan society which pushed the majority to the opposition's arms.

Still speechless, but tremendously happy and slightly hopeful, I am eager to keep being lectured, and proved wrong, for that'll mean further steps towards a democratic, peaceful and progressive Venezuela for all. There are gargantuan problems ahead: corruption being, in my opinion, the most important. As I write this, there's already talk about Henry Ramos Allup becoming President of the new Congress. I don't think a man like him should even be considered as worthy of that kind of responsibility, and that's what makes me a lifetime-member of the opposition. But for now, I can only be grateful towards my compatriots.

In short, a propagandist of the Maduro regime was caught, as we say, "cagando y sin papel". Before anyone thinks that my use of the term propagandist is inaccurate, or unfair, here we have Mr Rob Lovato, described as a "writer and scholar", who does not find relevant to disclose to publications that presumably commission jobs to him, to reveal professional relations that bring unavoidable conflicts of interests.

So let's say that the editors of Foreign Policy got a "profile" of Leopoldo Lopez (Vzlan opposition leader recently condemned to nearly 14 years imprisonment) from Mr Lovato. Given that the piece was meant to have been "reported in partnership with The Investigative Fund at The Nation Institute, with support from the Puffin Foundation", one must presume that necessary editorial consideration was given to the facts presented by all editors involved.

According to Lopez's lawyers and Pedro Burelli (mentioned throughout Lovato's piece) the article contains several inaccuracies, which Foreign Policy seems to be aggregating as "clarifications and corrections" at the end of the article.

But now we know that Lovato has been taking cues from Venezuela Information Office propagandists in Hugo Chavez's employ since, at least, September 2007, when Mr Lovato was a writer for New America Media and The Nation, and was being asked by chavistas to, basically, "publish oped": read regurgitate propaganda.

Chavistas are having a ball with U.S. media these days. Whether is Bloomberg, Forbes or Foreign Policy, it seems to be getting easier for sly operators to get past clueless editors that can't be bothered to apply a minimum of editorial rigour to demonstrably unsubstantiated BS.

21 August 2015

"Hi, I'm a reporter doing something on Derwick. Can I give you a call to ask a couple of questions?"

By this time, it's evident emails and calls are standard procedure of journalists / researchers reporting Venezuela, just to cover their backs and say "yeah, we called the guy, he gave us the usual about Mr Betancourt and his Derwick co..."

While I admit it is utterly unprofessional to be posting emails sent privately without the other party's consent, I just can't honor convention with reporters that epitomise unprofessionalism. After receiving the message above I called the reporter, and answered the "couple of questions" and more. But this is precisely the problem of editorial desks and journalists around the world: to think that a meaningful story can be produced by asking "a couple of questions". Invariably, initial niceties are followed by "I don't know anything about Venezuela..." or "this story is well beyond my area of expertise..."

When one asks clueless reporters what would happen in their countries should a Derwick-like scandal take place, all of them, without failure, say "yeah, I guess you're right, it would be a scandal, heads would roll..."

Venezuelans can only feel envy at what's happening in Brazil, with Petrobras, Odebrecht, etc. That however, as dramatic as it may seem, is children's play next to what goes on in our country. Corruption in PDVSA and Venezuela is orders of magnitude larger that whatever's been done in Brazil, and yet, Venezuela's most notorious gang of corrupt businessmen are presented as entrepreneurial mavericks. This is beyond sickening, and not the first time that Bloomberg misrepresents Venezuelan thugs.

Once upon a time, Forbes was made to retract an attempt at whitewashing Derwick, but they seem to have a soft spot for Bolichoros. Same goes with Bloomberg and its reporting of Derwick. Money laundering of the multimillion dollar kind is called "growth plan". Corruption, bribes, no-bid contracting and misappropriation of public funds through massive overcharges by Derwick execs is called "a family divided over his business dealings with Chavez’s government." Probes by U.S. Federal agencies, Manhattan's DA, and Spain's anti money laundering authorities, and investigative reports exposing lack of credentials get summarised as "certain relatives who weren’t happy". Doublespeak that would make Goebbels, or chavismo, proud.

Bloomberg's hacks are yet to awake to the realities of Venezuelan corruption. Producing copy, without asking any proper questions, seem to be their sole remit. And that would be fine, if it weren't a business-oriented publication. As it is, failing to establish clear and evident links between shell companies and proxies of thugs being investigated in at least two jurisdictions is inexcusable, hard to take it as mere unprofessionalism. Failing to mention forays into business areas unrelated to Derwick's alleged expertise is equally concerning, for it is now common knowledge that Derwick has a hand in Petrodelta -through Francisco D'Agostino- and in Petrozamora -through Orlando Alvarado, in association with PDVSA and Russian interests (Gazprom). Why is this not mentioned?

When did Derwick become an oil-focused company and what credentials, aside the stolen millions that allowed for such, have their execs? What track record -in oil- do they bring to the table? Why is Bloomberg regurgitating Derwick's BS instead of asking questions pertinent to shareholders and interested parties?

19 June 2015

O'Hara Administration Co., S.A. ("O'Hara") calls upon its fellow
minority shareholders of Pacific Rubiales Energy Corp. ("Pacific
Rubiales") to VOTE AGAINST the special resolution (the "Arrangement
Resolution") to approve an arrangement whereby ALFA S.A.B. de C.V.
("ALFA") and Harbour Energy Ltd. ("Harbour") are proposing to acquire
all of the issued and outstanding common shares ("Common Shares") of
Pacific Rubiales for C$6.50 per share (the "Proposed Arrangement").
O'Hara believesthat the Proposed Arrangement undervalues the Common
Shares, is opportunistic given current market volatility,
inappropriately incentivizes management at the expense of the
minority shareholders and is not in the best interests of the
minority shareholders.

You got to give it to these thugs. Boldness isn't something they lack. For here we have, a "group of investors", with no verifiable track record in oil & gas, anywhere on earth, represented by none other than Orlando Alvarado (Derwick Associates CFO), that mere days before Pacific was to announce ALFA's offer just happened to take an interest in Pacific, and in quick succession acquired nearly 20% of its shares. Opportunistic? Nooooo, just take Alvarado's word for it.

Pacific was caught napping, no doubt. It remains to be seen who leaked what, or how did Derwick find out about ALFA's impending announcement. What is unobjectionable is that once it did, Derwick reacted very quickly AND did the utmost to maintain its connection to O'Hara hidden. That is, of course, until I got information from Barbados registrar of companies about IPC Investments, one of the vehicles used by O'Hara and controlled by Alejandro Betancourt, Derwick's CEO. Then another shell controlled by Betancourt popped up in Pacific's shares purchase: Agency Partners, a vehicle used by Betancourt to buy a flat in Miami's Jade Ocean. It was then reported that Volbor Trading, O'Hara Administration, and Telmaven Overseas were three other shells controlled by Betancourt through Alvarado.

Pacific Rubiales Energy Corp. (TSX: PRE) (BVC: PREC) today announced
that, after receiving approval from the Independent Committee of the
Board of Directors, the Company is filing an application (the
"Application") before the Supreme Court of British Columbia (the "Court") in connection with the proposed arrangement involving the Company, ALFA, S.A.B. de C.V. ("ALFA"), Harbour Energy, L.P., Harbour Energy Ltd. ("Harbour Energy") and 1035815 B.C. Ltd. (the "Purchaser"), pursuant to which the Purchaser would acquire all of the outstanding common shares of the Company ("Common Shares") not already owned by ALFA or held by the Company in treasury for cash consideration of C$6.50 per share (the "Arrangement").
The Application is being filed in response to significant concerns
raised by Pacific Rubiales shareholders about how members of a group of
Shareholders acting jointly and in concert led by O'Hara Administration
Co., S.A. ("O'Hara") and Alejandro Betancourt (collectively, the "O'Hara Group") acquired their Common Shares.

In its release, Pacific asks a number of pertinent questions:

Who is O'Hara?

What is their investment track record in oil and gas?

What is their history of corporate governance?

How long have they owned their Common Shares?

What is the O'Hara Group's relationship with Derwick Associates?

Why is their circular lacking disclosure on these material issues? What are they trying to hide?

Indeed, how long, before Pacific made public its negotiation with ALFA? One month?

The O'Hara Group has tried, repeatedly if news reports are to be used as benchmark, to obscure its relation with Derwick Associates. Bloomberg, for instance, first reported that O'Hara's main man, Orlando Alvarado, was "a Caracas-based financial consultant", without mentioning a) that Alvarado was Derwick Associates CFO; b) that IPC Investments was controlled by Betancourt (Derwick's CEO); c) that he represented "private-sector businessmen with no ties to the government" when Derwick's relations with high chavista officials, and bribe payments are a matter of huge interest and official probes in at least two countries. Alvarado hails from ABN Amro. When he left, he founded with a group of colleagues something called White Bridge Capital, where yet another employee of Derwick (Hans Hertell), works. Please note that Derwick Oil and Gas and Betancourt's IPC Investments share Trident Corporate Services as companies' Secretary, as per Barbados register records. But then Alvarado, who may be contacted at oalvardo@derwick.com, has been as recently as April 2015 discussing with Betancourt, Pedro Trebbau (Derwick's no 2), and American lawyers legal matters pertaining to pending lawsuits, issues that a person unrelated to Derwick would not be privy of.

Why indeed? Could it be because they don't want Pacific and its shareholders to realise that this is nothing but an attempt to launder hundreds of millions of dollars stolen from Venezuela?

I sent an email to Alvarado, to ask questions about Derwick's true intentions with Pacific, its associations with Argentinean thugs, and so on. Let's hope he replies...

The operation was, of course, a sham intended to hide Cadena Capriles ultimate controlling party. Through special purpose vehicles created solely to keep chavista names hidden from view, Hanson set up a shell in Curaçao called Latam Media Holding N.V., dispatched to Caracas his associate Patrick Teroerde, who "paid" over 90 million USD, and got hold, along with chavista banker Victor Vargas of Banco Occidental de Descuento, of Cadena Capriles. The Curaçao shell is managed by TMF Curaçao N.V. although Venezuelan reports claimed that London-based Hanson Asset Management (HAM) owned Latam Media Holding. HAM returns are freely available in Companies House beta website.

There are some interesting bits in Hanson Asset Management accounts made up to 31 March 2014. For instance this:

Could Hanson Holdings Lux SARL have been used to purchase Cadena Capriles, to then be given to somebody else for a profit of £3,611? We'll have to check Luxembourg's records...

19 May 2015

Not everyday the WSJ graces its front page with news about TQNLQNSPM* stock, though surprisingly it did yesterday. Jose De Córdoba and Juan Forero brought it home with an extensive account on how several U.S. Federal Agencies, including the DEA, are basically closing in on Diosdado Cabello (pictured sporting a chic red beret), for turning the country into a narco-state. As one of Venezuela's foremost authorities on corruption, I am glad that a major U.S. news outlet finally exposed what's been vox populi for quite some time now.

Those who haven't been paying attention will find the piece interesting, specially claims from authoritative sources about Cabello's role in the Sun's Cartel (Cartel de los Soles: so named for it is run by Venezuela's top brass, i.e. those who have suns insignia in their epaulettes):

A leading target, according to a Justice Department official and other American authorities, is National Assembly President Diosdado Cabello, considered the country’s second most-powerful man. “There is extensive evidence to justify that he is one of the heads, if not the head, of the cartel,” said the Justice Department official, speaking of a group of military officers and top officials suspected of being involved in the drug trade. “He certainly is a main target.”

"... a trusted reader informs us that Majed Khalil is
the bagman of General Francisco Rangel Gomez, former president of
aluminium and mining giant Corporacion Venezolana de Guayana (CVG),
current Governor of Bolivar state. Hence his deals with CVG. Majed
Khalil is also a partner -and best man- of Lieutenant Antonio José
Morales Rodríguez (aka "el catre"), godson and aide-de-camp of Hugo
Chavez and one of his most trusted men. Morales is currently director of
the office of the Secretary of Venezuela's Presidency. Morales has
recently been fingered by former Supreme Court Judge Eladio Aponte
Aponte as one of the men who ordered him to free an army drug trafficker
(Pedro Maggino) caught with 2 tonnes of cocaine in Venezuela.

So it is not only Leamsy Salazar, Cabello's former bodyguard featured throughout, who's witnessed involvement in drug trafficking at the very highest levels, Chavez's very own is also ear-deep in it, despite Oliver Stone's willingness to take a drug trafficker at face value.

U.S. authorities could most certainly tap, at a moment's notice, on a vast network of Bolivarian thugs that have made the U.S. their playground. I'm thinking Francisco D'Agostino, Victor Vargas, Victor Gill, Roberto Rincón, José Zambrano, Rafael Sarria, Pedro Torres Ciliberto and his son Pedro Torres Picón, David Osío, Andrés Coles, Alejandro Andrade, Danilo Díaz Granados, Luis Oberto and his gang... Mind you there's no shortage of Venezuelans -whose ill gotten wealth came from deals with / sanctioned by Cabello- that could reveal the extent of his links to criminal activity. But then again, perhaps those mentioned, and then some, are part of the 56 Bolichoros whose visas have been withdrawn by the U.S. Government and are now singing in a desperate attempt to keep laundered proceeds.

Sources have told me that numerous federal investigations are taking place in New York, Florida, and Texas, where chavista "businessmen" tend to concentrate. Bolivarian "financiers" took to money laundering with such gusto that once public money started drying they thought "maybe we could lend our services to Diosdado's other businesses..."

It does take a while for Uncle Sam to get going, once it does though there aren't many places to hide. In the meanwhile, Cabello must be feeling a bit like Manuel "cara e' piña" Noriega. The U.S. is not about to send the Marines to Venezuela. Nowadays they count on Cuba's G2, Dilma, Juan Manuel Santos and Tom Shannon, to name a few, to do its bidding. Trouble for Cabello, a true TQNLQNSPM if there ever was one, is that outside his sphere of influence (dysfuntional and drug trafficking Venezuelan army) he's got no friends. He hates the Cubans. He has never been bothered with cultivating international allies. He has no charisma. No popular support. He's probably the most hated politico in Venezuela, and it is unlikely that FARC narcoterrorists are going to risk it for him.

Time will tell, of course. But before we see the end of this some spectacular fireworks are likely to take place.

1 May 2015

United States District Judge, J. Paul Oetken, dismissed former Western Hemisphere Affairs Secretary, Otto Reich, jurisdictional claims presented in a bribery lawsuit against Derwick Associates filed by the former diplomat in New York. In a stinging decision, Judge Oetken derides some of Reich's arguments about Derwick's executive Pedro Trebbau, stating:

Plaintiffs offer essentially the same set of facts in support of jurisdiction over Trebbau,
with one important exception: Trebbau neither owns nor rents any real estate in New York at all.
Instead, Plaintiffs contend, his New York residence is the home of his friend and banker,
Eduardo Travieso. Plaintiffs argue that “given Defendants’ wealth and stature, it is simply
implausible that they could maintain their extravagant lifestyles in Venezuela—a violent, third-
world country beset by rampant blackouts, food shortages and gross poverty.” (Plaintiffs’
Memorandum of Law in Opposition to Betancourt’s and Trebbau’s Motions to Dismiss, at 10
[Plaintiffs’ Memorandum].) And yet Plaintiffs would have the Court believe that a man of
Trebbau’s estimable “wealth and stature” permanently intends to crash on his friend’s couch. (bold added)

Judge Oetken's decision is a thing of beauty. It demonstrates, for one, that due process, when functioning as intended, is never encumbered with tangential stuff that has no direct bearing on the issue at hand, which is determining jurisdiction on the basis of facts presented in this particular instance.

Having property, bank accounts, mortgages, visiting, and spending money in a place does not amount, in Judge Oetken's view, to being domiciled in that place. Ed Miliband would disagree though. So while Alejandro Betancourt -Derwick's CEO / $PRE.to third largest shareholder- admits to have just 35% of his total net worth in New York -Reich claims Betancourt keeps $68 million in NY banks- he is not domiciled in New York, and therefore New York courts have no jurisdiction over his affairs, as pertaining to bribery claims against Derwick Associates in the context of this lawsuit.

Reich basically failed to demonstrate that Betancourt and Trebbau were domiciled in New York. That's what it came down to. The lawsuit never got to the juicy part: bribery allegations that could have shed light on the manner in which Derwick got over a billion dollars in 12 no-bid contracts from the Venezuelan State.

In the meantime, US Federal Agencies and the Manhattan District Attorney's Office continue probing Derwick and its commercial activities. I have been told that there's a particular interest in exploring connections to Diosdado Cabello, who appears to have become target no 1 for US law enforcement interested in Venezuela.

Update: Bloomberg sort of confirms what I exposed, but lacks the integrity of describing Derwick's CFO (Orlando Alvarado) as Derwick CFO, claiming instead that Alvarado and his "partner" (boss Betancourt) are "private-sector businessmen with no ties to the government and prefer to remain anonymous"...

28 April 2015

A visit last week by European Central Bank (ECB) readers to the profile I did on Juan Carlos Escotet took me down a rabit hole. First, repeating the Google search done by the ECB folks led me to discover that my http://infodio.com site had been hacked. Basically, someone sitting pretty in Uzbekistan, or who knows in what beyond-reach-of-Western-law-enforcement's-jurisdiction, uploaded a few files onto my server, hosted by Leaseweb in the Netherlands, to redirect all Google.com, .co.uk, .ca, and .com.au searches for related keywords to an online pharmacy selling Viagra, migraine medicine and another 35 or so products. Just to leave evidence, I recorded a short video.

This is the sort of the stuff that one just can't come up with, one for the #youcantmakethisshitup series.

Escotet seems to have learned nothing from that other Venezuelan concern that likes to go around threatening journalists, bloggers and the free press with lawsuits. And how's that one turning up? Beyond the particular merits argued by the parties, one thing these Venezuelan thugs seem incapable of recording is that if you mess with the press -free press I mean, not the Venezuelan one- you scream for further probing / attention. And that's exactly what Escotet, who managed quite the coup with Abanca's acquisition, will get.

Members of the free press in Spain, not the ones fêted by Escotet to all expenses paid Caribbean trips, may discover that he lied through his teeth during Abanca's bidding process. They may find, for instance, Escotet's very own words about exchange rates (see below):

So Mr Escotet, think's Wall Street bankers are naïve because, erm, they use the same tricks he does to gain business. What a dishonest, two-bit thug. But what to make of his attack spread in Spain? Not long ago, in the context of claims that millions worth of bribes were paid to Diosdado Cabello by Derwick through Escotet's bank, he put out another spread, in Venezuela, saying his banks operated in 15 countries, and complied with regulations in all jurisdictions. That's crock of course, but notice how he claims now that Abanca, the bank he bought in Spain, has gone, in the space of less than a year, from failed regional bank to announce more earnings than giant BBVA (Spain second largest), "over 2 million customers and operations in 8 countries." Bold the man is, we got to give him that.

Escotet's beaf with El Confidencial is due to what he perceives to be bad PR. El Confidencial recently published that SEPBLAC, Spain's Anti Money Laundering unit, is keenly investigating both him and his banks. If they follow down that rabit hole, they'll find a pandora world of corruption behind what's surely the wealthiest and most powerful group of operators in today's Venezuela. Having a commanding position in Venezuela's financial arena means that he has dealt with all the thugs, big and small, in the public and private sectors. In Venezuela he silences all but the most obstinate voices, of course, and not-yet-on-the-payroll journalists and independent media are promtly dealt with through the courts.

His clients at Derwick are also on the Slimification path: the latest is that they popped in Mexico -again #youcantmakethisshitup- as "investors" in some energy project. It takes some doing to launder all those ill gotten billions, though it would appear that time's running out for the Boliburgeoisie.

16 April 2015

Thanks to my fellow blogger Steven Bodzin, I found out about the latest in the lawsuit brought against Derwick Associates that you are currently dealing with.

I have read most of the documents. The issue of strongest contention between the parties seems to be jurisdiction. Daimler vs Bauman is cited throughout, both in support and opposition to motion to dismiss.

While I am certain that strict rules of due process are applied to this lawsuit, I think it would be travesty if you ruled in favour to dismiss. You won't have trouble finding reason against such motion based on evidence provided by the very party desperately pleading for dismissal. And I am talking about public, readily available, evidence.

As an exercise, you could for instance challenge Betancourt's legal
counsel to furnish publicly available evidence to back claim that he
voted, presumably in Venezuela, "19 times in the two and a half year
period" prior to this lawsuit's commencement in 2013.

Ask yourself: why would a "transparent company" with "nothing to hide" spend hundreds of thousands of dollars in lawyers, precisely and specifically, to stop information about its activities to become public? Does that strike you as "transparent"?

Furthermore, if we take Derwick's legal counsel's no-jurisdiction argument at face value, why is it so important for them to keep their activities in the USA hidden, if, indeed, they are a Venezuelan concern with no significant interests in the USA? Derwick's associations with US entities, such as ProEnergy Services, did not, in any way, hinder its ability to get public contracts in Venezuela. Quite the contrary. Having hundreds of millions of dollars in different US bank accounts, a considerable portfolio of US properties, US companies and investments, and bona fides from some of the US most reputed banks and law firms allowed Derwick to operate unconstrained from jurisdictional hurdles. In fact, had it not been for what could be termed as the very efficient American services industry, Derwick would have been unable to even acquire property in US soil. For Derwick did not produce letters from their banks in Venezuela, as guarantee for multimillion dollar property purchases. Derwick does not fly internationally in Venezuela-registered planes. Derwick did not execute its contracts by subcontracting Venezuelan, but American companies. As Pedro Trebbau admits, Derwick holds very little capital in Bolivares (Venezuela's official and only currency, subject to official currency controls) in Venezuelan banks.

But then, you must pay special attention to the fact that Derwick initiated legal proceedings against a Venezuelan bank, in New York courts in 2012. This Derwick did voluntarily, without coercion of any sort. No one forced Derwick to start a lawsuit in New York, and by doing so it not only admitted but actively sought the jurisdiction of New York courts to seek redress for a uniquely Venezuelan dispute: i.e. a defamation claim, brought by Derwick against a Venezuelan bank and its execs, for material published in Spanish, in a Venezuelan website, to a Venezuelan audience. Derwick decided to move its case subsequently to Florida, where it failed, spectacularly, at arguing its spurious defamation case successfully. Ultimately, Derwick's claim was dismissed with prejudice by a colleague of yours.

Ask yourself: how come New York court system was a valid venue, from a purely jurisdictional point of view, for Derwick to remedy a defamation case among Venezuelan parties in 2012, but it is not in 2013? I am sure you will agree that Derwick's non-jurisdiction argument is, quite simply, untenable.

Consider also the wider implications of granting a dismissal. As, arguably, Venezuela's foremost anti corruption blogger, I can assure you that there's not a chance of a scandal of this magnitude, that touches so many powerful figures of Venezuela's current government, to be heard in that country totally corrupt court system. Many of the actors involved in this saga are hugely powerful, so powerful in fact, that one of them managed to have Venezuela's Civil Code "reinterpreted" by the Supreme Court, so that a marriage ruling against him -obtained through fraud- was reverted. We are talking about the Chair of Venezuela's Congress, arguably the ruling party's top figure; we are talking about Venezuela's Ambassador to the UN, and former CEO of PDVSA and Minister of Energy; we are talking about owners of Venezuela's largest banks; we are talking about an international criminal organization, for these are not your regular defendants, but folks that, effectively, control Venezuela, for all intents and purposes a failed state.

It may sound impertinent coming from me, but you must put yourself in the proper geopolitical, historical and legal context when ruling time comes. If you are unaware of it, do ask to be briefed on FINCEN's or President Obama's Executive Order about Venezuela. Do find out, if you can, what is currently happening with Derwick Associates in New York's DA's office, the Security and Exchange Commission, Treasury Department, FBI, State Department, Homeland Security and DEA. If you could, check ramifications that touch Derwick, currently being investigated and exposed in Spain's media, with respect to laundering of billions of dollars in Spain and Andorra where actors associated with Derwick are involved. Only today, news broke about one of Derwick's bankers of choice having been singled out as a "priority target" by Spain's Anti Money Laundering Investigation Unit. Another of Derwick's bankers has been named in a Florida lawsuit that the Venezuelan State is bringing for misappropriation of millions of dollars, while a third, father in law of one of the defendants in your case, is actively collaborating with US law enforcement.

Published: 18 March, 2015
By ALINA POLIANSKAYA
|
POLICE are looking to speak to three people in connection with a burglary in Primrose Hill, in which two computers were stolen from a flat.

The men were caught on CCTV inside the building, after being refused entry into the secure block by the porter.
They tried buzzing for entry several times, between 8am and 9.45am on November 17 last year, and though they were denied access, they were later caught on camera in the building.

One suspect, who is described as Middle Eastern, aged approximately 40 and of medium build, was wearing a light brown jacket over a white shirt, a blue-grey scarf and grey flat cap.
Another is aged around 25, of Mediterranean appearance and of slim build. He wore a shiny, red quilted jacket with white writing on the chest and crown of the hood, which was worn up. He also had on black lycra jogging bottoms
The third suspect was a 40 to 50 year old white man, of medium build. He had a goatee beard and wore a grey hooded coat with a grey hat under the hoof and a grey scaf.

Police urge anyone who can identify these men or know where they are, to contact DC Stephanie Barron of Camden CID on 101.

Alvarado, on his
part, was CEO of Electricidad de Caracas, and shared with Ramirez
important board positions at newly formed CORPOELEC. Alvarado's son,
also called Javier, is a school friend of Pedro Trebbau, one of
Derwick's top executives. In fact, when Alvarado Jr was importing an
old Porsche he bought from a convicted oil trader, he gave
Derwick's office address in Caracas as contact.

FINCEN's report mentioned PDVSA as source of syphoned billions. Derwick
Associates got all its 12 contracts either directly from CORPOELEC
(through Alvarado and Villalobos), or from its partner PDVSA / Bariven (through
Villalobos and Ramirez).

How can this be? How
could Derwick's proposals be prepared and authored by ProEnergy staff? Not only the ones for Venezuela, but also a bid in Suriname. Is
it not evident that using proposals interchangeably does away with
differentiation of bids / companies? ProEnergy paid bribes for the obtention of
Termozulia contract, as revealed by Venezuelan journalists. Crucially, Termozulia contract and the bribes paid to obtain it, took place after Derwick and ProEnergy started working together. Given how
ProEnergy and Derwick conducted its businesses with CORPOELEC and
PDVSA / Bariven, does anyone buy Derwick's line that contracts
obtained did not involve payment of bribes to Villalobos, Alvarado
and others?

As per El Mundo and
local Venezuelan sources reports, the workflow in obtention of power
contracts looks like this:

However Derwick
wants us to believe that no bribe made part of their workflow. Every
single multinational and local company making business of moderate
size in Venezuela pays bribes. To be fair, that's just the way it works. If no bribe is paid no
contract is granted. But the peculiar thing about Derwick in
particular, is their refusal to admit publicly that solely through corruption
and nepotism can their success be explained.

Derwick's time's up.
Its execs are currently being probed by Manhattan DA's Office, several U.S. Federal Agencies and now the corrupt thugs that contracted them are also investigated by FINCEN and Spain's Anti Money
Laundering authorities. This will, almost certainly, lead to further
investigations by other Spanish and / or European law enforcement
agencies. For instance, El Mundo reports that Villalobos wired money to bank accounts in Miami. Is RBC, as quoted in SEPBLAC's report, the Royal Bank of Canada? Also consider that Villalobos is an intermediary, a bagman for a big chavista beast, otherwise known as Rafael Ramirez. Villalobos didn't just pocket the $50 million, simply because having no official job at the time he couldn't possibly have awarded a contract. That's the remit of someone with true discretionary power, someone high enough in the chavista food chain, a Ramirez, a Cabello...

Notice mention of Majzoub brothers and Ricardo Fernandez, all three proxies of Diosdado Cabello.

Derwick execs
favourite argument is that I have been paid to write about them, that
my work to expose chavista corruption, which started when some of
them were teenagers, is some sort of vendetta, and that silencing me
-through break in, theft, stalking, online defamation, spurious legal accusations and threats against my children- will bring to an end
their problems with the justice. I guess in their soireés in newly
acquired, multimillion dollar houses overlooking the greens of
Caracas Country Club, among all those idiotic yesmen, chavistas and
pneumatic women, they must think that I have enlisted Barack Obama, Manhattan DA's
Office, FINCEN, SEC, FBI, Treasury, IRS, DEA, Homeland Security, the
WSJ, El Mundo, and SEPBLAC for my "campaign". Like their chavista patrons like to say: “It's all an Imperial Conspiracy!”

As I said a while back, Derwick brought all of this to themselves, and they have only themselves to blame for what's coming their way. I have been told that sancochos in El Furrial are hopelessly boring...

16 March 2015

One of Spain's newspapers of record, El Mundo, published in its front page today about corrupt officials from Venezuela using the subsidiary of a little bank in Andorra to launder billions of dollars. The news may come as a surprise to some. Readers of this and other blogs of mine will, I hope, share a feeling of vindication with me today, for as extraordinary as El Mundo's decision to name names is, we have known this for a while. In fact, I alerted Spain's money laundering authorities (SEPBLAC) about it in April 2012.

Derwick Associates has been described by El Mundo as an American company that has benefited from public contracts given by Alvarado and Villalobos, now under investigation. Derwick is not an American co, we know that, but Alvarado and Villalobos are key to this multibillion dollar swindle.

Luis Jose Diaz Zuloaga, stepfather of one of Derwick's principals (Francisco Convit), was CEO of Electricidad de Valencia (one of the private cos forcefully absorbed by CORPOELEC). Javier Alvarado, in turn, is the father of a close school chum of Pedro Trebbau (Alvarado Jr on the left, with light blue, Trebbau in the center, dark blue and glasses).

Through Diaz Zuloaga, Villalobos, Alvarado and Ramirez, the Derwick bolichicos managed to get over 1.3 billion USD worth of contracts, according to ProEnergy Services sources familiar with the deals. In addition, Derwick overcharged the Venezuelan State 35%, on average, on each contract, according to leaked documents and ProEnergy Services sources familiar with the contracts.

Alek Boyd created Vcrisis.com and started blogging about Venezuela in Oct. 2002. Since, he has worked as an independent researcher, reporter, lobbyist, civil and political rights activist, and has experience in strategic and media consulting throughout Latin America. In 2006, Alek became the first blogger ever to shadow a presidential candidate in Venezuela. In 2009 he gained a MA (merits) in Spanish American Studies (King's College London). Alek can be contracted to do due diligence on individuals and companies in Venezuela and LatAm. Contact: @alekboyd.

Most of the investigations I've published since 2002 are related to individuals and companies with suspect connections to Hugo Chavez's regime, whose actions would've gone unnoticed otherwise. Exposing the $2-trillion dictator is no easy task, and so donations are always welcome.